To further the Universidad Central Caribe (UCC) research capabilities and productivity the Office of the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies has being created. The main goal of this Office is to actively facilitate and promote interdisciplinary research enterprises and curriculum development within UCC's academic community. A two-phase organizational plan is being implemented. Phase I is dedicated to organizing the office by selecting and training the staff. Phase II will be devoted to establishing and implementing pre-and post-award procedures, assist researchers in the preparation of proposals and publications, establishing a strong profile for generation of external revenue and research grant funding, fostering research collaboration, as well as assisting in the implementation of the Scientific Human Resources Development Unit. This unit will be responsible for the professional development and continued education of junior and senior research faculty. The unit will provide training programs that will address the competencies junior research faculty require to successfully develop their research capabilities, including the development and management of research projects, the acquisition and management of grants and the communication of the results obtained. Participation in the EA Program will provide the new Assistant Dean with the necessary knowledge to achieve the goals expressed above. Faculty development through research is a goal of UCC and it is the cornerstone of UCC's efforts to become self-sufficient via external research funding. The specific aims of this project are to: 1) increase the institution's capability to obtain non-minority external funding; 2) increase the number of publications in peer reviewed journals; 3) increase the amount of interdisciplinary interinstitutional research collaborations; 4) promote faculty involvement in research activities; and 5) increase the amount of funding provided by the local and state government, private donors and corporations. These aims will be achieved by the creation of a Research Development Office, which will be created as a direct result of this grant. The knowledge acquire in the EA Program is essential to fulfill the institutional research goals as stated in the Strategic Development Plan (SDP) of the Institution.